The National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) has launched season four of the Presidential Pitch with the theme; “Building a Sustainable Entrepreneurial Nation: The Role of OurFuture
Unicorns”.
The Presidential Pitch is a unique entrepreneurship initiative put together by the Ministry of Business Development partnered by the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme to give Ghanaian youth entrepreneurs the platform to pitch their business ideas in hopes of obtaining funding.
This entrepreneurial competition has been in existence since 2018 and is open to all entrepreneurs that are eligible to participate. Qualified finalists are selected to receive varying amounts
as high as GHC 100,000 funding grants for their businesses.
Speaking at the launch in Accra the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NEIP Ms Abigail Swad Laryea said the Presidential Pitch for Young Entrepreneurs is a deliberate, systematic, and integrated policy initiative by the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) to boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country.
According to her the business competition, a revolution in the history of Ghana for young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 40 serves as an incubating platform for existing businesses and capital funding from the government.
Furthermore, the initiative seeks to turn creative businesses by the Ghanaian youth into global business giants with the support of the government. The criteria for selection are feasibility, innovation, scalability, and potential impact of the business.
Ms. Abigail Swad Laryea urged every Ghanaian youth to seize this opportunity to grow their various businesses by applying to the presidential pitch. “We’ll be narrowing down all applications to a top 25 instead of the usual top 20.
The award packages for this year’s competition have also been increased. The government is earmarking 2.5 million ghc for the top 25 contestants”.
The competition methodology focuses on these core business sectors, Agriculture, Fintech and technology,
Manufacturing and processing, Tourism and the creative arts ,TVET
,And any other economically viable area.
Vanessa A. LIMANN, CEO of Vanelim and 2018 Presidental Pitch winner recounted her humble beginning before entering the competition and said, the competition has impacted her life and her business positively.
She urged every youth to apply and stand a chance of winning.
